When a someone breaks their arm and goes to the hospital, does the doctor give them some pain relievers and send them on their way?  What if the doctor only treated the symptom rather than attack the root cause of the problem?  In the case of the broken arm, the pain would subside somewhat but the break would still be there and it would heal improperly.  If it doesn’t heal properly, it will have to be re-broken and re-set. 

This is a rather simplistic view of root cause analysis but it does get to the point that should the root cause not be addressed, the long term result will most likely be worse than the original problem.  In root cause analysis, there are three actions to be taken: immediate, preventive, and permanent.

Immediate actions address the symptoms (the immediate need).  Preventive action is assuring the same problem doesn’t happen again by addressing the root cause of the problem.  Permanent action consists of using your knowledge of the root cause and applying it so the problem never happens again.

In our example of the broken arm, the immediate action of the doctor would be to address the pain so they may give you a pain killer.  After medication, preventive action would be taken by setting the arm to insure it heals properly.  Permanent action would be to make sure you didn’t perform the action again that caused your arm to break.

This same type of root cause analysis can be directly applied to your weight loss efforts and can be very effective.  The truth of the matter is that most diets truly fail because the root cause of your weight problems are not addressed.  Sure, you may lose 20 lbs. but you gain it right back because you only took immediate action and didn’t take preventive or permanent action.  In this case, the immediate action is changing the type of food you consume.  The preventive action is changing your lifestyle to incorporate healthier foods and exercise.  The permanent action would be addressing the underlying emotional reasons of why you over eat.

One step in the battle of addressing the underlying emotional reasons you eat is to be able to identify the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger.  Physical hunger is the hunger you feel because your body needs nourishment while emotional hunger is the act of eating in response to your feelings.  It is often difficult to differentiate between the two but awareness of the differences may be key in helping you overcome those emotional eating habits. 

The following is a list of ways you can tell if you are eating out of response to a physical hunger or out of response to emotional hunger:

Physical Hunger

• Your hunger builds gradually since your last meal
• You get full and stop eating
• You feel satisfied after eating
• You have physical symptoms such as a rumbling stomach
• You don’t feel the need to eat immediately
• You don’t feel guilty after you eat

Emotional Hunger

• Your suddenly feel hungry
• There is an urgent need to eat
• The time since your last meal makes no difference
• You often have a taste for something specific (cravings)
• You continue to eat after you are full
• Guilt and shame after eating

As GI Joe says, “Knowing is half the battle.”  Arm yourself with the knowledge and you will drastically increase your chances of long term weight loss success.